BackgroundExperienceArtistic Director/ChoreographerAnimals of DistinctionSeptember 2006 – Present (7 years 1 month)Vancouver & Quebec, CanadaFounded in 2006, Animals of Distinction was initially formed as a satellite organization beneath the larger auspices of acclaimed company The Holy Body Tattoo, as a vehicle for the independent work of artistic director Dana Gingras. Gingras is a dance artist whose work in the past 20 years have established her has a game-changing, boundary-pushing choreographer and performer.

Since its inception, the company has created Smash Up, a full evening presentation of solos and duets conceived as a collision between dance, animation and sound. Smash Up was commissioned by the Festival TransAmeriques and premiered at the festival in 2008. Over the past two years presentations of the work have taken place across Canada, in the US and Europe across many different platforms including live performance, film, design, and new media.

The interactive software that generates the animation of the company’s celebrated work Chain Reaction and video of the live performance have been presented at graphic design conferences, and universities around the world, In addition AoD has produced three Bravo!FACT film works Dances for Dzama, Aurelia, and Double Bubble. In 2010 AoD presented the video/performance installation What Is Mine Is Yours at Los Angeles County Museum Of Art as part of Let Them Eat LACMA. Heart As Arena the company's most recent full length creation premiered at The Cultch in Vancouver on October 4th, 2011.

The Animals of Distinction Arts Society is a registered non-profit society, and is directed (in its activities and mandate) by artistic director Dana Gingras. AoD has been managed by Eponymous since 2006. AoD is represented by international agent Menno Plukker.Co Artistic DirectorThe Holy Body TattooJanuary 1992 – August 2010 (18 years 8 months)Vancouver, Canada AreaIn 1993, Dana co-founded The Holy Body Tattoo with Noam Gagnon. The company changed the landscape of Canadian dance, earning numerous awards and honours for its stage and film work. our brief eternity (1996) won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Ensemble Performance. The work has been performed more than 100 times in Canada, Europe, USA, and Australia. Circa (2000) was the recipient of the inaugural Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award and has been performed around the world, including performances at Ein Fest in Wuppertal, Germany at the invitation of Pina Bausch, and at London’s Barbican Theatre. Other critically acclaimed works include Running Wild (2004) and monumental (2005).